Hay-rigging.



l.. F. RUNYAN.

HA Y mGGlNG.

APPUCATION FILED APR. 18. i9l6.

Patented Jau. 16. 191'?.

HAY-RIGrGrIlVG.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' ratenteuaan. le, mit..

pplication led April 18, 1916. A Serial No. 92,029.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that LLoms F. RUNYAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lebanon, in the county of Warren and State of ()hio, have invented new and useful Improvements in Hay-Riggings, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to hay riggings, and it has particular reference to the mounting of the ladders at the front and rear ends of a hay rack.

The invention has for its object to produce simple and improved means for mounting the hay ladders in such a fashion that they may be folded down flat on the rack when not in use, and will on the other hand be sustained securely in position when raised.

A further object of the invention is to produce specially constructed` socket members that form bearings for the rock shafts of the hay ladders, said sockets being so constructed as to enable the hay ladder to .be readily removed without disassembling the hay rack, and said socket members being equipped with latch means of special construction for securing the hay ladders in position when raised to an upright position.

With these and other' ends in view which will readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the improved construction and novel arrangement and combination of parts which will be hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In theaccompanying drawings has been illustrated a simple and preferred form of the invention, it being, however, understood that no limitation is necessarily made to the precise structural details therein exhibited, but that changes, alterations and modifications within the scope of the claims may be resorted to when desired.

In the drawings, Figure l is a view in elevation of a hay ladder constructed in accordance with the invention, showing also in section the sills of a hay rack on which'it is mounted. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the end portions of the rock shaft supporting the ladder and related parts in section. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the bearing sockets which is provided with a latch member. Fig. 4: is a perspective detail view of the other bearing socket. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the bearing socket having the latch member, showing the latch member in raised position.

Corresponding parts in the several gures are denoted by like characters ofreference.

l5 designates the sills of a hay rack, and 16 a cross bar connecting the same. The ladders at the front and rear ends of the rack are of similar construction7 and only one has been shown, said ladder being designated by L.

Each ladder is composed of side members 18 which are connected together and spaced apart at suitable intervals by rungs 19, the lower ends of the side members being firmly connected with rock shafts 20, said rock shafts ,being usually made of wood and of square or rectangular cross section throughout the greater portion of the length thereof, each shaft being provided with terminal trunnions 21. The trunnions at the ends of each rock shaft are supported in sockets 22,

23 which are securely mounted on the inner faces of the sills. The sockets 22 are of circular shape, each being provided with flanges 24 for the passage of fastening members, such as bolts 25, whereby the said sockets 22 are secured` on one sill. The sockets 23 are substantially U-shaped, open at their ends, said sockets being adapted to be secured by means of bolts 26 on the sills opposite to and in alinement with the sockets 22.

The wall members of each socket 23 are provided near their upper ends, where the socket is open, with registering apertures 27, and the rearward wall member has an additional aperture 28 which is located below and to one side of the aperture 27.

- B is a latch member, the same being formed of a rod of steel or other resilient metal, and the same being bent to form an elongated yoke having limbs 29, 30, one of which, 30, is provided with an offset 31. The limb 29 is bent to form a rocking member or shaft 32 which extends through the apertures 27 for rocking movement therein. rlhe other limb, 30, is extended beneath that portion of the rock shaft 32 which extends through the side walls of the socket, said limb 30 being formed with a terminal lug 33 which is adapted to engage the aperture 28 when the latch member is in an approximately horizontal position, thus constituting a locking device whereby the latch member will be securely maintained in such position.

When the latch member is in this position,

the offset 3l ofthe` limb 30 willabut upon' -an upright position without danger orpossibility of being Vaccidentally disengaged andY permitted to swing downward.

When it is desired to move. the. hay ladder to an approximately horizontal position,y the latch member B'fis bent until the free end thereof is moved out off thefpath of the ladder, as indicatedi in dottedlines in Fig. 3, thuspermitting the ladder to be swung about the axis of its' rocksha-ft 20 until it occupies the desired position, after which vthe latch member B, beingreleased, will automatically assume its initial position. In like manner thelatchmember B is manipulated when the ladder is to be restored to an upright position.

That portion of the rock shaft or member l 32 which extends` beyond the walls of the socket is apertured for the passage of a split key orV cotter whereby the Vparts Vmay be maintained in assembled relation. By swinging the latch member to an upright position, yr'emox'fing the cotter and pulling the limb 30 in an outward direction from the socket until the lug-.33 is clear ofthe wall portion ofthe socket, the latch member may be readily detached or disengaged from the socket member` by simply sliding the rock shaft or c member 32 from the apertures wherein itis supported. One end of the rock shaft of the hay ladder may then be lifted through the open portion of the socket member. 23, 'andthe other end of the rock shaftl ofthe ladder may nowbe readily disengaged from the socket member` 22. The 'ladder may thus be readily disengaged or detached from the rackwhen desired for the purpose of repairing the same or for other reasons, and this may bei-accomplished withou-tl disassemblingor in 'any way injuring the hay rack. Y l l The wal-l portion Vvof the socket 23 is provided-near itsupper end with a laterally extending lug 34, the same constituting a stop on*v which theV latch member may be s upported in an approximately horizontal position, said stoppreventing the movement of the free'endfoftheV latch member in a downward direction beyond predetermined limits. It has been statedthat the latch member is constructed of apiece ofv material which is inherently resilient. By extending the rock` shaft 32 formed at the end of the limb 29-.of the latchfmember inthe path of the limb 30 it will beseen that the said limb 30 will be disposed tangentially,while the limb 29uis disposed radially w-ith'-respect to the rock shaft, so that the lug-33 at the end of the limb 30 will readily engage the aperture 28 which is formed adjacent to one of the aperwith this end in view.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, 1s

l. The combination with a hay rack having side sills, of socket members mounted on the inner opposed faces of said sills, one of said socket members being open at the top, a hay ladder having a rock shaft provided with terminal trunnions engaging the socket members, and a latch member swingingly connected with the socket member which is open at the top, said latch member having a portion extending through the wall portion of the socket near the open end thereof and lying in the path of one of the trunnions of the rock shaft of the hay ladder.

V2. The combination with a hay rack having side sills, of socket members mounted on the inner opposed faces of said sills, one of said socket members being open at the top, a hay ladder having a rock shaft provided with terminal trunnions engaging the socket members, and a latch member swingingly connected with the socket member which is open at the top, said latch member having a portion extending through the wall portion of the socket near the open end thereof and lying in the path of one of the trunnions of the rock shaft of the hay ladder, said latch member having an offset adapted to engage the hay ladder to sustain the same in a raised position.

3. The combination with a hay rack having side sills, of socket members mounted on the inner opposed faces of said sills, one of saidsocket members being open at the top, a hay ladder having a rock shaft provided with terminal trunnions engaging the socket members, and a latch membery swingingly connected with the socket member which is open at the top, said latch member having a portion extending through the wall portion of the socket near the open end thereof and lying in the path of one of the trunnions off the rock shaft of' the hay ladder, said latch member having an offset adapted to engage the hay ladder to sustain the same in a raised position, said latch member being alsoprovided with means whereby it may be locked securely with respect to the socket member.

4. In a device of the class described, a socket member of substantially U-shape open at the top, thekwall portion of said socket being provided with oppositely disposed registering apertures and With an additional aperture adjacent to one of the rst mentioned apertures, in combination with a latch member consisting of a resilient yoke, one limb of which is bent to form a rock shaft engaging the registering apertures in the Wall portion of the socket, said rock shaft extending also in the path of tlie other limb; said other limb being provided With a locking lug adapted to engage the aperture adjacent to one of the registering apertures in the Wall portion of the socket.

5. In a device of the class described, a socket member of substantially U-shape open at the top, the Wall portion of said socket being provided with oppositely disposed registering apertures and With an additional aperture adjacent to one of the rst mentioned apertures, in combination with a latch member consisting of a resilient yoke, one limb of which is bent, to form a rock shaft engaging the registering apertures in the Wall portion of the socket, said rock shaft extending also in the path of the other limb; said other limb being provided With a locking lug adapted to engage the aperture adj acent to one of the registering apertures in the Wall portion of the socket; the Wall portion of the socket being equipped With a stop member lying in the path of the latch mem ber, said stop member being so disposed as to intercept the latch member about the time when the locking lug engages the aperture.

In testimony whereof I a'HiX my signature.

LOUIS F. RUNYAN.

@oplet of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Fatents, Washington, D G. 

